Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~23~L
A manual actuating device for enclosed electrical switches.
The invention relates to a manual actuating device for an e-
electrical switch which is built into a cubicle with the open
rating handle rotatable mounted in a door, of the kind that
comprises misalignment compensating means and with interlocks
to prevent undesirable operation.
In order to enhance safety and for protection against the en
vironment, industrial switches are frequently enclosed in
cubicles. however, it is desirable to operate such switches
without having to open the door of the cubicle, and the
switch is supplied with an axle of a length suitable for the
mounting of an operating handle on the outside of the door.
however, it is important to be able to open the door in order
to change fuses or the like, and the handle is therefore oft-
en supported in the door and connected to the switch axle Bohemians of a claw coupling. However, safety requires that the
door may only be opened when the switch is in its "off" post-
lion, and hence the the handle is often connected with lock-
in means for the door. There are further safety requirements
zoo that the handle shall only be connectable to the switch when
the position of the handle and the position of the switch a-
greet In practical mounting of switches in cubicles and hand-
lies in doors certain misalignments are unavoidable, and hence
there is a requirement that compensating means will allow
friction-free operation in any case.
Several solutions to the above requirements are known. Common
to them all is that they consist of loose parts that have to
be mounted in correct mutual relationship on handle and
switch axle respectively. This reduces security in that the
possibility of errors increases and it also contributes to
greater assembly time. In particular the locking of the door
is complicated, and in most cases it is dependent on correct
engagement of the locking device and the part that is con-
necked to the switch axle.
Jo .
According -to the present invention there is
provided a manual actuating device for an electrical switch
which is built into a cubicle and is activatable, by means
of a handle mounted on an openable door, via a rotatable
switch axle, the associating device comprising a first
coupling member rotatable mounted in the door and fixedly
connected to the handle and a second coupling member mounted
on the switch axle, the two coupling members being adapted
to engage with each other when the door is closed and
comprising mutually cooperating guiding surfaces which
facilitate the insertion of one coupling member into the
other during adjustment of differences of position by
misalignment compensating means, blocking means being pro-
voided for preventing opening and closing of the door while
the switch is connected, characterized in that -the second
coupling member comprises an engaging member cooperating
with the first coupling member and a mounting member fixedly
mounted on the switch axle, the engaging member and the
mounting member being mutually connected by means of -the
misalignment compensating means, the compensating means
being adapted to make possible the adjustment of the
engaging member in each direction perpendicular to the axis
of -the switch axle.
The invention is to be further described with
reference to -the drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 shows a construction according to -the state
of the art;
Fig. 2 shows a construction according to -the
invention; and
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Fig. 3 shows details in the construction of Fig. 2.
In Fig. 1 is shown the state of the art of a handle with mist
alignment compensating means for actuating a switch and with
interlock to ensure that the door carrying the handle is
locked when the switch is in the "on" position. A handle
is mounted on an axle 2 which is rotatable disposed in the
door (not shown). The axle 2 carries a cross plate with
projecting pins 3 which may engage slits 4 in an Essex-
tidally circular disc 5 . A further slit 6 is provided per-
pendicular to the first slits 4 surrounding the center of the disc 5 . In the slit is disposed the end of the act-
cling axle 7 of a switch. As the length of the slit 6 is
greater than the width of the square axle 7, the disc 5
may perform a sideways motion on the switch axle 7 . The
disc 5 furthermore has a cut-out 8 covering part of the
purrer When using this, well-known, actuating device the
length of the axle 7 has to be adjusted according to the
mounting of the switch in the cubicle. The pins 3 and the
slits 4 must get into engagement, and this can only occur
when there is agreement between the position of the handle
and the position of the switch In case there is a certain
misalignment between the directions of the axles 2 and 7,
relative displacements between the pins 3 and the slits 4
and of the axle lo in the slit 6 provide compensation duo
ring rotation of the handle, thus transmitting torque from the handle to the switch in order to let it operate. In or-
don to obtain a locking action on the door when the switch
is in the "on" position, a claw 9 which is mounted on the
inside of the door projects in order that it grips the disc
unless it has a position corresponding to switch "off".
In this position only, the claw is opposite the cut-out 8
in the disc 5 .
It is apparent that an actuating device according to the stay
lo of the art as described above has certain mechanical weak-
messes and disadvantages in use. In case the misalignment be-
tweet the handle in the door and the switch in the cubicle is
large a large compensatory movement is required. This will
increase wear, in particular in the slit I which again
leads to undesirable slack in the movement. The claw 9 must
have a large capture area in that it shall not only lung-
lion properly in case of slack but also in case of full come
punster movement of the pins 3 in the slits 4 which
gives the disc 5 a translator movement as well as a rota-
lion. The amount of compensation that this construction may
give is limited by the fact that there is only a 90 degree
movement involved in the actuation of most switches.
These disadvantages are completely avoided by the construe-
lion according to the invention shown in Fig. 2. A housing
which has a taper 11 contains the misalignment come
sensating means, and it is mounted on the switch axle 7 by
means of a sleeve I . The taper 11 eases introduction
into and engagement with a well 13 in the handle 1 . The
handle 1 is rotatable mounted on the door which is not
shown. The housing 10 for the misalignment compensating
means carries on one of its sides a projection 14 which
corresponds to a slot 15 in the well 13 of the handle
1 when the well 13 has the correct position with respect
to the housing 10 . In close proximity to the well 13
there is disposed a slide 17 carried in the bearing 16
of the handle, which slide is spring loaded as shown by the
downwards pointing arrow of Fig. pa. The slide 17 is for-
god aside when the housing 10 is introduced into the well
13 , and upon completion of this operation the slide moves
back by spring pressure and so prevents the pulling out of
the housing 10 . This function is used for locking the door
in that the handle may not be separated from the switch axle
7 in this position (the "on" position ). There is in pray-
tire a possibility of overriding the interlock by insertion
of a special tool from the outside of the door; however this
is not shown as it is a part of the state of the art. The
door must be openable in the "off" position of the switch,
and this is obtained by means of a tapered back edge 18
of the housing 10 which may push back the slide 17 and
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so allow withdrawal of the housing 10 from the well 13. The
major advantage of -the interlocking obtained by means of the
invention as compared -to the state of -the art is that the
interlock acts on a part 10 of the actuating means -that has
already had its positions mechanically corrected. This
means that the interlocking means do not need to have a
large capture area because they always have to act at the
same place, and normal mechanical tolerance may be used in
order -to obtain easy introduction and withdrawal.
On Fig. 2 it may further be seen how i-t has been
obtained that there is always the same relationship between
the position of handle and switch as prescribed by the
manufacturer. By means of the switch having a longitudinal
slot and a sleeve of the misalignment compensating means
having at least two radial bores in one of which an inwardly
protruding pin is placed for interaction with a longitudinal
slot upon introduction of -the axle in the sleeve this may
be obtained in -those cases where the switch has a permanently
fixed axle as well as in the case where an axle of square
cross-section is cut and pushed home in a hole provided in
the switch In the latter case -there is the only require-
mint that there be provided in the hole a protrusion or tab.
The device -thus functions in the following manner: the
axle 7 with the slot or groove 22 is cut from stock and one
end is put in the hole with a tab provided in the switch
(not shown). This can only be performed one way. Sub-
sequently the misalignment compensating means contained in
the housing 10 are mounted on -the axle 7 by means of the
sleeve 12. Similarly this can only be performed one way
because -there is fit-ted an inwards projecting pin in the hole
24 so that the axle 7 can only be pushed into the sleeve
12 when the pin is allowed to slide in the groove 22. The
sleeve is fixed to the axle by means of the screw shown.
The door may be shut closed when the projection 14 is in-
traduced in the slot 15 in the handle, and only under those
circumstances. hereby it is unambiguously ensured that
one may read the position of the switch from the position
of -the handle with the door closed. In case certain
absolute requirements as to the position of the handle
have to be adhered to (e.g. vertical signifies "on",
horizontal signifies "off"), certain problems might
occur if a switch can only be mounted one way for reasons
of
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space in the cubicle, and when the groove in the switch axle
is disposed for the other way of mounting. In this case the
pin in the hole 24 in the sleeve 12 may be driven out by
a conscious use of tools and placed in the hole 23 instead,
thus compensating for the changed mounting of the switch.
There are typically holes in the sleeve 12 corresponding
to 4 different orientations of the groove 22 with which the
pin has to cooperate.
In Fig. 3 is shown the heart of the misalignment compensating
means enclosed in the housing 10 . This is the part that come
sensates for the switch axle 7 not necessarily having the
same axis of rotation as the handle 1 , even though they may
be parallel. It is a question of transmitting a rotational
movement between two parallel axles, and from a kinematic
point of view it is performed the same way as described in
connection with known constructions. That is, use is made of
two sliding movements in directions perpendicular to each
other According to the invention this is obtained by means
of the part shown in Fig. 3b consisting of a plate 19 car-
ruing tongueless 20 and 21 perpendicular to each other.
These interact with grooves in the housing 10 and in that
part of the sleeve 12 which extends into the housing and
which carries a collar US which is larger than the hole
allowing the extension into the housing 10 . The part shown
in Fig. 3b transmits the movement of the handle 1 which
drives the housing 10 of the misalignment compensating
means, to the switch axle 7 through the sleeve 12 . This
is shown by means of different hatching on Fig. pa. The
grooves are longer than the tongues 20 and 21 in order to
permit the sideways movement in perpendicular directions. It
should again be pointed out that cinematically the part shown
in Fig. 3b performs the same action as the circular disc 5
in Fig. 1. However, it it not to act as a door interlock as in
the state of the art. In the present invention door interlock
is performed on the hindmost part of an element, the position
of which has already been compensated for.
Because the locking of the door occurs by means of a slide
moving in parallel to the door, it is a simple matter to ox-
lain both locking of the door as welt as locking of the move-
mint of the handle my means of a pin which is controlled from
the outside of the handle. This pin is pushed in parallel
with the axis of rotation of the handle in order to engage
holes at selected places in slide and in door. A pin of this
kind may be locked by means of a padlock which ensures that
only authorized acres to activation or opening of the door
can occur
The following advantages accrue from the actuating device
according to the invention having the misalignment compel-
sating means permanently mounted on the switch axle: the con-
struction is smaller, lubrication is permanent, the weight
and parts count are smaller, and the mounting of the handle
in the door is greatly simplified in that there is no need
for careful mounting of interlocking means.
